Accor, an augmented hospitality group, has announced plans to densify its portfolio by adding nine new hotels across the mid-scale and economy categories to the existing portfolio of 54 hotels in India. Over the next two years, it will add more than 1,300 keys to its Novotel and ibis brands in the country.
Despite the dynamic circumstances that the pandemic brought with it for the hospitality industry, Accor launched three of its much-awaited hotels in 2021, the luxurious Raffles Udaipur, Novotel Chandigarh Tribune Chowk and ibis Vikhroli Mumbai, in partnership with InterGlobe Hotels. This underlines its sustainable growth in the Indian market and its commitment to holistic development, involving its guests, owners, and partners.
In India, Accor has a wide portfolio, with ten brands across the luxury, premium, upper midscale, midscale and economy segments. Each brand has been able to create a niche for itself, among the rich base and varied needs of the Indian market.
The Novotel and ibis brands from the Accor portfolio in India have an extremely high brand recall and a strong focus on the meetings and conventions market, as well as the weddings and socials market. The Novotel network, with 21 operational hotels, forms the largest network of mid-scale hotels in the country, with hotels in key cities such as Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Goa and Hyderabad.
Over the next 24 months, Accor expects to add six new properties to the network, two of which will debut in leading two-tier markets within India – Novotel Bhubaneshwar Janpath Road and Novotel Jodhpur ITI Circle. It will also continue to expand its ibis and ibis Styles brand in partnership with InterGlobe Hotels by adding three more hotels in the next two years to the existing portfolio of 20 hotels.
“India is a diverse market with heterogeneous guests, and our endeavour is to cater to our guests in all their varied personas and changing needs,” said Mark Willis, CEO of India, Middle East, Africa and Turkey. “Our Novotel and ibis brands are much preferred by guests given their value, price and ability to offer a consistent experience, with a seamless service. We will continue to expand our footprint in the upper mid-scale and economy segment in India with the Novotel and ibis brands, and also keep looking for the right partners as we expand our luxury brands after the successful response we received for Raffles Udaipur last year.”
Speaking on the occasion, Puneet Dhawan, Senior Vice President of Operations – India and South Asia, Accor said “We are excited to be entering new markets that promise vast business potential. With travellers’ confidence rebounding, and the Indian tourism sentiment demonstrating positive outcomes, staycations and workcations to both metropolitan and non-metropolitan cities are in demand. We are well-positioned to address this demand and addition of nine new hotels to our existing network would surely lead Accor to even higher levels of hospitality in the country.”
Accor currently has a focused yet differentiated brand portfolio with 54 hotels in India, and more than 10,000 keys. From a development perspective, it has been following a densification strategy, and enhancing expansion in key cities with multiple hotels across varying price points.
